This application is the national phase under 35 U.S.C. xc2xa7371 of PCT International Application No. PCT/FI99/00557 which has an International filing date of Jun. 23, 1999, which designated the United States of America.
1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a control method intended for use in telecommunications as a call-forward procedure or a resolution routine of a target location.
2. Description of Background Art
The method is particularly applicable in situations in which a user (generally: a person, an application entity, an IP node or a data link layer node) operating via a connection or location (e.g., a subscriber connection, a CORBA/Java RMI API, an access point of IP network or an access connection of ATM, FR or the like data link layer) is forwarded in the network topology to another connection or location, whereby the update of the connection forwarding or location resolution should take place with maximum reliability.
In the conventional technique, the called party (a person, software object or process, (sub)network or a node thereof, etc.) cannot place conditions to the calls originating from services that are of the call-forward or location resolution type. Expressed in practical terms, there is no possibility of blocking the forwarding of a call placed from a given number to the home number of a subscriber.
Today, a user configuring a call-forward or location resolution service possesses a full freedom of switching or registering calls or messages placed on his phone number to any other connection or location, whereby the target of the forwarding service may also be accidentally or willfully false. For instance, the user configuring the call-forward service may remember incorrectly the number or location to which the calls or connections should be directed, thus causing said connection or location to be loaded with unnecessary and disturbing calls.
One problem herein is that the traffic is unconditionally directed to the target connection or location irrespective of whether the user (a person, software application, (sub)network or a node thereof) requesting the call-forward service or new location registration has yet actually acquired the new target connection or location.
Currently, the target of the call-forward operation is not expected to explicitly acknowledge the target address forwarding operation in conventional call-forward services prior to the activation of said service.
It is an object of the invention to overcome the drawbacks of the above-described technique and to provide an entirely novel method for controlling a call-forward procedure or a resolution routine of a target location.
The goal of the invention is achieved by virtue of verifying the new location of the user in the network topology prior to activating the registration of a call-forward request or location resolution for the new target location designated by the user. This is accomplished by allowing the final step of activation to be made from the new location (of the new call-forward or location registration procedure) alone and, moreover, by the user only. For instance, in the xe2x80x9cCall forwardxe2x80x9d service of an IN (intelligent network), the forwarding procedure may be initially registered from the source connection, but the final activation step is possible only when performed from the target connection. Then, the user registering the forwarding procedure cannot activate the service so as to be directed to an incorrect location, whereby the possibility of a willful or inadvertent interference is reduced in an essential manner.
The invention offers significant benefits.
The addition disclosed herein to a call-forward or location resolution service gives the target subscriber or user (such as a network connection, application object, application process, network or a node thereof) a possibility of selectively restricting the input of calls or messages directed to his connection or address by the call-forward procedures or location resolution routines.
In addition to being a xe2x80x9cstand-alonexe2x80x9d service, the call-forward or location resolution procedure may be a component of a more comprehensive service. The invention is widely applicable to, e.g., combination services such as the UPT which essentially comprises two service components: call-forward and alternative charging.
By virtue of the invention, the subscriber of a call-forward/UPT/location resolution service can be assured that not a single forwarded call or message will be accidentally directed elsewhere than only to such addresses (connections, software objects/processes or network nodes) that have explicitly verified their new location in the network topology by an active call to the call-forward service or location resolution system. Accordingly, only after the call-forward service or location resolution system has acknowledged the new location of the service user, the registration of the new target address or location resolution will be activated.
In prior-art procedures such as the telephonic call-forward service, the only possibility of checking the correct configuration of a service has been to place a verification call from a third connection to the connection served by the call-forward service, and even herein, the user is held responsible for submitting the correct address to which the forwarding shall be made.
By virtue of the present call-forward service arrangement, the subscriber has no confidentiality risk of outsider access to forwarded calls/information due to an incorrect configuration of a call-forward or location resolution service.
If so desired, the owner of the target connection, sub(network) node or platform can restrict the switching of call-forward/UPT/location resolution service calls to his connections or locations.
Further scope of applicability of the present invention will become apparent from the detailed description given hereinafter. However, it should be understood that the detailed description and specific examples, while indicating preferred embodiments of the invention, are given by way of illustration only, since various changes and modifications within the spirit and scope of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art from this detailed description.